


His Only Friend

by Marimomarble99



Category: Transformers: Beast Wars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 10:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2064657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marimomarble99/pseuds/Marimomarble99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Relationship between Depth Charge and a young human child he found when he landed on a planet in the aftermath of one of X's massacres. Songfic/Oneshot which has now evolved into a multi-chaptered fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I was just sitting around reading summaries of Beast Wars episodes when I remembered Depth Charge. So, I went ahead and started reading fanfics about him and this specific one called “Transformation” caught my attention. Depth Charge is my favourite BW character and I always wished that he would actually have a friend to depend on so cue this song popping into my head and thus, this fanfic was born. I really hope that I didn’t make DC too OOC :/ Also, I changed the lyrics a bit to suit the fic.
> 
> I do not own Transformers: Beast Wars nor do I own Frozen's Do You Want To Build A Snowman

 

* * *

 

_(cue opening instrumental)_

A young girl’s head peeks out from under the huge desk she hides, or rather, lives under. Scanning the room to make sure it empty, she scrambles out from her hiding place a runs towards the window. White fluffy snow falls from the sky. The girl watches in awe, her face pressed against the glass. Eyes widening she flees back under the desk, diving behind the curtain that serves as a door between the desk and the outside world.

Depth Charge entered his office, sighing and grumbling with irritation. Yet another failed attempt at trying to convince the Council to destroy that damn X. The Maximal High Council had refused to destroy Protoform X, instead choosing to charge Primal with dumping him on an uninhabited world despite his extremely strong objections. He knew Primal was going to blow it sooner or later like he always did. Huffing, Depth Charge sank into his chair and rolled to his desk. Grabbing a datapad of the  stack that had been sitting on his desk for the past few weeks, he turned it on and started reading it. Primus, he hated paperwork.

He had gotten halfway through the report he was reading when he felt a movement from under the desk. Silently gritting his denta, he forced himself to focus on his work. This was not the time to play.

The young girl stuck her head out from behind the curtain, outing her head in Depth Charge’s lap. Her dark brown eyes shining up at her self-appointed guardian. A twinge of sadness filled her as she realised her friend was ignoring her once again. He had been working so hard and sleeping so late. His nightmares had also come back; she often caught him whimpering in his sleep when they slept in their shared quarters. She wished he would lighten up and have some fun once in a while. Glancing at the reflection of the falling snow on the cabinet door behind him, she looked up at him again and started singing.

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

Depth Charge winced internally. It’s not that the five-year-old’s singing was horrible. On the contrary, it was beautiful but he had been trying to her since X had been captured, hoping that he would be able to distance himself from her so that he wouldn’t feel to bad when the day came that he had to leave her on Cybertron so that she would not be put in harm’s way when he was tracking down X. However, her voice was near impossible to ignore much less resist. It took all of Depth Charge’s willpower to keep his gaze locked on the datapad.

_Come on lets go and play_

_I never see you anymore_

_Come out the door_

 

_It’s like you’ve gone away._

_We used to be best buddies,_

_And now we’re not._

_I wish you would tell me why_

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

The girl leaned close to her friend.

_It doesn’t have to be a snowman_

She sang, pleading and hopeful.

 

“I’m busy, Asha.” The girl wilted.

 

_Okay, bye…_

 With that, she retreated back under the desk.

* * *

 

*eight years later*

A teenaged Asha skipped down the corridor of the motel Depth Charge and her were staying in for a few days while they waited for his Starhopper to finish being repaired. Asha had stowed away on his ship, refusing to part with her only friend. Depth Charge hadn’t realised she was with him until it was waaay too late. It was winter on the planet and there was quite a large amount of snow even though it had just started snowing a few hours ago.

Entering their room, Asha skipped to their shared quarters and opened the door just enough to peek her head inside the room where Depth Charge lay, on the berth, scanning through yet another one of the random datapads he had brought with him. Where the pit did he get those from anyway? Shaking her head, she ignored the disturbing suggestions her teenage mind provided her with and sang to him softly.

 

_Do you wanna build a snowman_

_Or fly up in the snowing sky_

_I think some company is overdue_

_I’ve started talking to the pictures on the walls_

_It gets a little lonely_

_Playing by myself_

_Just watching those snowflakes fall_

 

* * *

 

_(Orchestral)_

By the time Depth Charge had finally started having a proper conversation with Asha, she was already an adult. Feeling guilty, he dragged her out of recharge at 5am in the morning so that they would be able to spend a full day at the beach. Asha was not a morning person, but she woke up when she saw the dawn. They had the best day they ever had in their entire lives. After watching the sun set, the pair headed back to the motel to clean up and get a good rest before their departure from the planet the next day.

While they were walking back, they caught sight of a commotion. Before they could do anything, there was an explosion. The two friends were thrown into a building from the sheer force of the explosion. Groaning, Depth Charge rose to his pedes, trying to ignore the loud ringing in his audials. Looking around for Asha, he felt fear creep into his tanks when he saw her prone form lying a few metres away from him. Stumbling towards her, he dropped to his knees, turned her over… picked her up and started running as fast as he could to the nearest hospital he could find.

 _Dear Primus, please let her live_ , he thought. Asha had been impaled through the stomach with a metal pole, but she wasn’t bleeding. Depth Charge was smart enough to realise that any injuries she had were internal. Everything went by in a blur. Depth Charge found himself waiting a nurse or medic to call him, outside a ward after he had handed over Asha for surgery. When the finally exited the ward, he leapt to his pedes, hoping, praying that his only remaining friend would be alright. However, with each word, the medic said, he felt his spark grow colder and colder. The medic put a comforting servo on his shoulder but he barely noticed it.

* * *

 

The techno organic woman the Maximals had discovered had proven to be quite an asset to the war. They had been winning the battles waged by the Predacons ever since she came. Not only was she a skilled warrior, but she was also a good engineer, a fact which Rhinox thanked Primus for as he watched her work through the kinks of the connection between the Maximal and Autobot technology with surprising ease. However, Asha had an unhealthy habit of forgetting to take a break, often spending a whole day on her work if unmonitored. Rhinox decided to give her five more minutes before he shooed her out of base to take a break and smell the flowers, making sure to watch the time closely while conversing with Optimus Primal.

“Speaking of which, where’s Depth Charge? We haven’t seen or heard from him for a few weeks now,” Primal said. Asha’s ears pricked at the mention of her friend’s name.

“Depth Charge?” she asked curiously, carefully masking her surprise. The Maximals hadn’t mentioned him before and she also hadn’t revealed the fact that they were friends.

“Oh, that’s right. We didn’t tell you about him. I have to apologise, it was a bit hectic around here as you know, and Depth Charge, while not purely a free agent, doesn’t exactly help us out very much,” said Primal, giving her an apologetic smile. It had honestly slipped his mind that he had forgotten to tell her of the rogue Maximal.

Frowning, he said, “Even if he doesn’t make contact with us often, it’s been quite some time since he reported in. I was thinking of looking for him if he doesn’t  show up soon.”

"It’s okay, I’m certain he’ll turn up sooner or later,” replied Asha, smiling at her leader reassuringly. Stretching, she announced that she was going to take a break for a short while, asking Rhinox to take over. After being shooed out of the base by Rhinox, she took off, running as fast as she could as she traced Depth Charge’s spark signature. Her search led her to a small cave by the sea. A boulder sealed its entrance.

“Depth Charge?” Asha called out to her friend, knocking lightly on the boulder. Pressing her head against the boulder, she sang.

 

  _Please I know you’re in there_

_People are asking where you’ve been_

Asha remembered when she had first been discharged, how the medic had told her about how guilty Depth Charge had looked when he heard about her injuries and that she had been turned into a techno organic to save her life.

 

_They say “have courage”, and I’m trying to_

_I’m right out here for you,_

_Just let me in_

 She had forgiven him for neglecting her all those years ago. She just wished he would forgive himself for what had happened that day.

 

  _We only have each other_

_It’s just you and me_

_What are we gonna do_

 She slid down the boulder to sit on the sand, leaning against the hard rock. As she looked up to the sky, she saw small snowflakes drifting down from the sky. She keened softly, tears flowing from her eyes, remembering the phrase she had said every year when it had snowed.

 

  _Do you want to build a snowman?_

 Her voice cracked as she sang. Kneeling, she turned around and pressed her head to the boulder, as she nearly whispered out the last line pleadingly.

 

  _It doesn’t have to be a snowman_

 Her shoulders shook as she cried softly. On the other side of the boulder, Depth Charge sat with his back to it, leaning against it as he offlined his optics, tears flowing freely from them, assured that no one was around to see him cry.

Neither moved for a long time.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot: While hunting down X, Depth Charge comes across a young human girl when he investigates a planet on which one of X’s massacres occurred. This is a oneshot/songfic of their time together from the moment they met up to Depth Charge’s death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Depth Charge, Asha (my OC)
> 
> I still do not own Transformers: Beast Wars

* * *

 

On a small backwater planet, a Starhopper landed thrusters blowing sand in every direction, enveloping the vehicle in a cloud of dust. A single solitary figure emerged from the spacecraft, shielded by said cloud. As the cloud slowly dissipated, the figure revealed itself to be the former Chief Security Officer on Colony Omicron, Depth Charge. The mech stepped out of his ship, taking in the bloodshed that had been wreaked upon the planet by his most hated nemesis; Protoform X. Mangled corpses had been strewn all around, some of them missing limbs and even their heads.

Depth Charge’s fists clenched as an untameable rage flowed through him. Wracked with guilt at yet another failed attempt at trying to capture X before he could slaughter anymore innocents, he sank to his knees and let out a long, loud scream that echoed throughout the land. Tears ran down his face as he hunched over and gritted his dermas. How many? How many more have to die before I finally catch that psychopath? He thought, looking up to the sky.

“FRAG YOU X!!!!”

Rain started pouring down, mixing with the blood, creating an ocean of red that seemed to go on forever. The mech let his head hang, exhaustion creeping into his frame. After a while, he slowly rose and headed back to his Starhopper. Stopping in front of the craft, he took one last look at the slaughter that had been dealt upon the planet. Turning, he was about to get into his craft when he noticed a small movement out of the corner of his optics. Spinning, he scrutinized the spot that the movement came from, hope creeping into his tanks. Nothing. Downhearted, he was about to turn back to his vehicle when he saw the small movement again. This time however, it did not stop. Optics widening, Depth Charge ran through the rain, ignoring the dead bodies that he occasionally stepped over. He had found a survivor!

Upon reaching the survivor, he froze. Lying in front of him was a young organic girl around three to four years old, trying to crawl her way out from under a pile of corpses. She was shivering in fear and from the cold rain, her eyes squinting, struggling to see through the cracked lenses of the overly large spectacles she was wearing. A sudden protectiveness washed over Depth Charge. With more care than he thought was possible, he took hold of the girl and gently pulled her out from the pile of corpses. The child froze and then started struggling as he carried her away from the massacre.

“Shhh. Easy there kid. I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said, gently bouncing her to stop her from crying. Red optics losing the hardness they had gained after seeing more than enough of the destruction X brought on each planet he visited. Slowly, the child ceased her struggling and crying, though she still sniffled occasionally. Large brown eyes looked up at him, full of trust.

“Promise?” she asked, her voice shaky. Smiling softly, Depth Charge nodded.

“Promise,” he said. The beam the child gave was enough reignite a dying spark.

Looking around he said, “Hey kid, where are your parents?”

Evidently, mentioning her parents wasn’t such a good idea as the girl tried to hide her face in his chest plates. She also started crying again. Frowning, Depth Charge realised what must have occurred. Gently bouncing the child, he tightened his hold on her, bringing her into a comforting embrace, laying his helm on top of her head.

“Shhh, shhh. It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said. Depth Charge cradled the small form against his frame, doing his best to shield her from the rain. He began walking back to the Starhopper, taking care of his precious load. Once inside the craft, he strapped himself and the child in, and took off flying as far away as he could from the planet and started heading towards his next destination at top speed. Putting the ship on autopilot, he looked down at the girl sitting in his lap. She hadn’t moved or spoken since he promised not to hurt her and had taken off her spectacles in favour of pressing herself as close as she could to Depth Charge’s warm frame. She had dark skin and both her clothes and short hair were matted with blood. Arms circling around her, he gave her a gentle squeeze. The girl looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

“What’s your name kid?” he asked her softly. Sniffling, the child replied.

“Asha.”

“Asha, huh,” said Depth Charge, testing the name out.

“That’s a pretty name,” he said kindly.

“Thank you,” replied Asha shyly. Looking up at the big robot that had saved her, she asked him curiously, “What’s your name?”

“Depth Charge,” replied the mech. The girl’s eyes widened in wonder. Chuckling, Depth Charge returned his gaze to the screens that had his next destination plotted on them, Asha’s curious gaze burning into his faceplates. It wasn’t long before the girl’s natural curiosity got the better of her and she found herself reaching up to brush her fingertips against Depth Charge’s yellow crests at the side of his helm.

“Careful with those,” he said. “They’re very sensitive.” Eyes widening, Asha nodded her head so furiously that Depth Charge was worried it would fall off. Then, she went back to probing his crests gently. Offlining his optics, Depth Charge let out a soft sigh at the pleasurable feeling Asha’s fingers made on his crests. That feels nice. Asha’s fingers brushed over a sensitive node. Depth Charge’s optics onlined in a flash. Too nice. Gently grabbing Asha's tiny hands in his own large servos, he pulled them away from his helm.

"That's enough for now kid," he said. Pouting, Asha gave a soft whine, but did not contradict his words. Making herself comfortable in his lap, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Depth Charge's hold on Asha tightened once he noticed she was sleeping. Gazing out the windshield of the Starhopper at the countless stars that popped in his view, he pondered over a thought that had just occurred. Then, he altered their course and joined Asha in recharge a few minutes after.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

 

 

Depth Charge woke to the beeping of his ship's systems. They had reached their destination. He had decided to take a detour to a small backwater planet to bring Asha to a medic for a quick check-up, just in case she had obtained any injuries that had gone unnoticed.  Switching to manual control, he landed the Starhopper in the planet's fairly busy spaceport. Climbing out, he took a brisk pace to the nearest motel he could find with Asha in his arms. He'd have to wash her off before going to the clinic unless he wanted people to think he was a raving lunatic.

The room he rented was small, but comfortable. Depth Charge rummaged around a cabinet for a blanket. Wrapping Asha’s small form with the microfiber cloth, he laid her on the couch gently. Stalking to the wash racks, he kneeled by the decently sized bath tub and started filling it with warm water.

He glanced over his shoulder at the youngling on the couch, making sure that she was still there before turning back to the tub. He tested the temperature of the water to make sure it wouldn’t be too hot or cold then stood up and walked over to the couch to rouse the girl. He froze when he reached the couch. The blanket was empty and her spectacles were all that was left of her. Cursing, he whipped around frantically searching for the girl when he heard a splash and laughter coming from the wash racks.

Slowly, he turned around, his jaw dropping at what he saw. Low and behold, there was one dark skinned organic youngling splashing around in the tub, bloody clothes on the floor. _How did she…_ Depth Charge’s head swivelled between the couch and the tub. _She was just… I just…_ he thought dumbly. The girl was obliviously swimming around in the tub. Shaking his helm in disbelief and picking his jaw off the floor, he made his way to the washracks.

“Having fun?” he asked her, regaining his composure. The girl’s eyes lit up when she saw him.

“Depth Charge!” she cried happily. Suddenly, she frowned, eyeing his armour.

“Yous dirty,” she declared. Depth Charge raised and optic ridge in amusement.

“Yous must bathers. Come play!” she said, motioning towards the tub. Depth Charge looked at the child in amusement. He had been worried that she would be one of those kids who didn’t like taking baths. It was clear he had been worrying about nothing. The mech turned his gaze to the floor of the washracks. Water which had splashed out from the tub had mixed with the blood stained clothes creating an ungodly mess. The kid noticed.

“Oopsies. Sowwie,” she said sheepishly.

“Is cleans!” she declared suddenly, trying to stand up in the tub. Her efforts ended up with her slipping and sloshing more water onto the floor.

Sighing, Depth charge said, “No, I’ll clean it up. You stay in the tub.” The girl looked at him worriedly.

“But yous dirties,” she protested, wildly waving her arms at him. Depth Charge smiled behind his mask.

“I’ll join you once I’m done, Okays?” The girl looked at him uncertainly.

“Okays, but yous calls mes if yous needs helps, kay?” she said firmly.

Chuckling, Depth Charge nodded and replied, “Is calls.”

Grabbing a towel from the rack nearby, he began wiping up the mess on the floor. Suddenly, he froze in a sudden realisation of what he had said. Groaning silently, he finished cleaning the mess and dumped the towel and clothes in a bin. _What type of self-respecting mech says “Is calls”,_ he thought to himself furiously. He stalked past the tub to the shower, not pausing when Asha called him.

“Let me wash off my armour first, kid,” he mumbled distractedly and was replied with a bright “Okays”. Primus, he was already speaking like her even though he had been with her for less than three hours. Shaking his helm disbelievingly, he turned on the shower and started scrubbing the blood off his armour with the motel provided sponge. Once her was certain his armour was blood-free, he stepped out of the shower, took off his mask and stripped off all his armour (save his codpiece obviously). Walking back to the tub, he climbed in, letting out a pleased sigh and off lined his optics as the warm water engulfed his bare protoform. He shifted as he felt a pair of curious hands running over his body, probing and prodding at his protoform.

He onlined his optics upon feeling the hands run over his face and nearly had a spark attack when was met with the sight of Asha’s face right in front of his own. Steady mech, he thought to himself.

“Yous pretty,” she observed nonchalantly.

“Is likes yous skin,” she continued.

“Is pretties.”

Asha gave him a bright smile to which he couldn’t help but respond with a smile of his own, though “pretty” wasn’t exactly how he would describe himself. The youngling reached up to his helm to run a hand across his helm fins. It seemed like she’d gotten pretty attached to them. He leaned into her touch, optics shuttering and purred. Wait- WHAT! Depth Charge’s helm shot up, faceplates burning in heat and looked at the girl in his lap. She cocked her head giving him a slight grin that said I’ll keep your secret safe. Giving the girl a stern glare that told her of the sufferings she would endure if she spoke to anyone about what had just happened, to which he was answered with an illegally innocent gaze, he settled back against the tub, carefully circling his arms around her fragile body and surrendered himself to her tender mercies. Checking his internal chronometer, he decided that a short nap was in order. After all, the water did feel very nice and Asha’s curious fingers were doing wonders to ease away the pit shaking processor ache that had been present with him for the past few weeks. A few minutes of recharge wouldn’t hurt anyone.

 

 


End file.
